Plattenbau - 10. Chapter 10- Daddy Issues

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"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Ed asked angrily and placed his beer bottle down.

His friend just shrugged. "Hey, all I'm saying is that if she is into you just go for it. Who cares if she got some daddy issues or not?" Wilhelm took another gulp from his beer and then continued with a nasty grin on his face, "Besides, those young messed up chicks are always super needy, if you know what I mean."

Ed was about to punch him for saying something like that about Alex when his other friend Karl finally spoke up after having stayed quiet for most of the evening, "Okay, this is disgusting, even for your standards."

"Oh, come on, like you wouldn't go for it if some young hot chick would hit on you!" Wilhelm argued back but his words only managed to make Ed's blood boil even more.

Sure, he had been the one to bring up the topic of Alex’s obvious crush on him. And, yes, maybe he had intentionally forgotten to mention that Alex was a boy, because he wasn't sure how his friends would react. But, he had still hoped that his so-called friends would at least be able to give him some good advice on the matter. Apparently not. Instead, he had to listen to this slimy asshole insulting his boy!

When Wilhelm made another disgusting comment, Ed had enough. He slammed his fist on the table and was about to tell his childhood friend that if he said one more nasty thing about his Alex, he would lose the few teeth he still had left, when Ed realized something. He groaned and ran his hand over his face.

"Guess it's not as one sided as you wanted us to believe." Karl concluded from his comrade’s behavior and with a chuckle, patted Ed's shoulder.

Ed looked at his military buddy for a moment, and nodded in resignation. He hated to admit it, but the teen had somehow managed in just a few months to get through the walls he had built over the years and make him feel things that he would have rather kept locked up.

"Haha the bitch got you good, huh buddy?!" Wilhelm laughed, earning himself another death glare from Ed.

"H...her name is Alex!" He angrily growled, feeling a little bit uncomfortable by having to call Alex 'her.'

"So if you like her and she likes you, then where is the problem?" Carl asked after emptying his beer and ordering another round for the three of them.

"The problem is that I'm too old for this bullshit."

"Oh please! You are just thirty six! That's not that old!" Wilhelm said and then fell into a tirade about age being just a number and that 'you only live once' and so on, that Ed barely listened to.

When he finally stopped, Ed sighed and then mumbled, barely loud enough for his friends to hear, "Yes, but I'm still twenty years older than Alex."

Both of his friends seemed to be in shock when they heard Alex's actual age because, before, Ed had only said that 'she' was a lot younger than him.

After a moment that felt more like hour, Karl still in disbelief asked, "She is sixteen?"

Ed lowered his gaze and nodded.

Wilhelm slammed his hand on the table and then yelled, "Dude you should have said that! For fucks sake, I thought she was in her early twenties or some shit! Teenagers are a total no go, they cause way too much trouble."

"I have to agree with Wilhelm on that. And you know how much I hate agreeing with him." Karl said with a grim look on his face.

"Well, first of all, fuck you!" Wilhelm said and pointed at Karl. He then sighed, leaned forward and looked Ed deep in the eyes. "Secondly... are you fucking nuts?! A teenager? Really?!"

"Believe me, if I could change it, I would... For fucks sake, I don't even get why the kid likes me in the first place or why I'm starting to feel the same!" Ed leaned back in his chair and looked at his reflection in the window. "I'm not much of a looker anymore, and personality wise... well you guys know better than anybody else how it is." Ed said, feeling his tongue finally loosen enough after the fourth beer to speak what had been on his mind for weeks. "This is so fucking messed up. I mean even if Alex’s feelings aren't just a teenage crush or worse, some fucked up parental love kinda thing... I don't think I would be able to do it! With all the baggage I got, and my fucked up life, I'm just not made for one of those disgustingly sweet, lovey-dovey relationships. And I'm pretty sure that's exactly what the kid would expect from me." Ed shook his head, noticing that his sight had gotten blurry. He quickly wiped his sleeve over his eyes, feeling embarrassed that all that pent up bullshit had almost managed to make him cry.

"Just because you got some issues doesn't mean you are unable to be in a relationship. I mean, look at me and Sarah. I was a complete mess too when I meet her, but thanks to her help I have found a way to deal with the stuff and even managed to be a decent father and husband." Karl argued, and then after a sip from his beer added "You just gotta take your time to figure shit out and if she really likes you she will give you that."

"Ugh this is getting way too depressing! Let's get you drunk, big guy so you can forget about that bi.... Alex for now." Wilhelm said while already waving over the waitress to order more alcohol.

"You shouldn't enable him to get drunk." Karl criticized him but Wilhelm just raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Right. Because Ed totally needs someone to enable him to get shit faced."

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"Remind me again why the fuck we are doing this?!" Wilhelm grumbled and pressed the button for the ninth floor.

"Because he is our friend." Karl replied, slightly out of breath from having to drag Ed most of the way from the pub to his apartment complex up the road.
"Besides you aren't the one that has to carry his drunk ass, so stop complaining!"

"You know I got back problems!" Wilhelm complained while rubbing his lower back as if just the thought of having to carry Ed was giving him back pain.

Karl rolled his eyes and retorted, "You only have back problems when you have to do something you don't want to do."

The elevator doors finally opened and Karl once again had to shoulder Ed's drunken body by himself down the corridor. When they had almost reached Ed's apartment a black haired boy, who had seemingly waited in front of Ed's place, came rushing towards them.

"Ed! Are you okay?!" The teen asked, visibly worried for the big guy's well being. For a moment, it seemed like he wanted to come closer but for some reason he hesitated, instead staying an arm length away from them.

His eyes shifted from Ed to Karl and then back to Ed. He didn't know why but he could have sworn that there was a glimmer of jealousy in the kid's eyes.

"He is just drunk as fuck, kid. Don't worry." Wilhelm laughed, feeling amused by the kid’s behavior, and walked past them with the keys in hand toward the apartment.

The boy looked for a moment after Wilhelm, until he disappeared in the apartment and shifted his attention back to him and Ed. Nervously he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. After a moment, he then held out a plastic container towards Karl and stammered, "Oh...okay...uhm well I... uhm... I..." He took a deep breath and continued, "I baked some cake and well I thought that maybe Eddy would want some too."

For a moment, Karl was stunned that the kid had actually the balls to call Ed 'Eddy' because he knew from experience that the big guy hated being called that. If he remembered correctly he had even once punched another soldier's teeth out for repeatedly using that name but the boy had just used it so nonchalantly without even an ounce of fear or hesitation. After overcoming his initial shock he nodded and took the box from the teen's hand.

"By the way, who are you?" He questioned, still feeling a little bit baffled by how close this kid and his old friend seemed to be.

"Uhm I'm Alex, I'm.... Eddy's....friend." The boy replied, his cheeks turning slightly red, telling Karl more than he wanted to know.

Seeing that the boy was around the age that Ed had mentioned and had even the same name it was easy for him to put two and two together. "Alex...huh." he mused and looked the kid up and down. He was skinny with dark shadows under his eyes and the complexion of a ghost. He looks nothing like Ed's ex girlfriends. Strange, and I thought I knew his type.

"You should go home, Alex." Karl said but when he saw the boy's hesitation he added "Don't worry, we'll take care of Ed." His reassurance seemed to have done the trick, because the boy slowly nodded and then shambled back to the apartment right next to Ed's.

"So...Ed is gay?" Wilhelm asked after Karl had given him the plastic box that he almost immediately opened.

"I don't know." He honestly answered, still quite in shock over this new discovery but then remembered what his teenage daughter had explained to him about sexualities and genders."Maybe he is bi?" Karl added and laid Ed on the couch.

"Don't know what that is, but the kid is definitely a keeper." Wilhelm announced while greedily stuffing another piece of cake into his mouth. While still chewing he then added, "If he doesn't want him, I’d gladly take him."

"Ed would probably kill you."

"Worth it. The cake is fucking awesome."

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